Petrol sales in India surge in September, diesel consumption down

Petrol sales in India have witnessed a surge in the first fortnight of September 2023. Sales of petrol across India have grown to 1.3 million tonnes in the first 15 days of this month, up by 1.2 per cent compared to the same period last year, reported PTI. On the other hand, diesel sales have slumped during the same period to 2.72 million tonnes, down by 5.8 per cent compared to the same period last year.

The report further stated that consumption of petrol across India had dropped by 10.5 per cent in the first fortnight of July this year compared to the same period last year. However, the sales of petrol picked up in the latter half of July, while it had fallen by eight per cent in the first half of August this year. Sales of petrol in the first half of September were up by 8.8 per cent compared to the same period of August this year, further revealed the report.

Incidentally, the Indian economy has shown great resilience since the Covid-10 shock and the petrol and diesel sales too have witnessed a drastic improvement over the last two years. Consumption of petrol during the first fortnight of September this year was 29.2 per cent more than the first half of September 2021 and 20.8 per cent more than pre-pandemic September 2019.

Diesel sales, on the other hand, have witnessed a slump for the second straight month this month as rains dampened the demand for the fuel, revealed the report. While petrol sales were up marginally in the first fortnight of September, diesel sales by three state-owned fuel retailers dropped year-on-year during the same period. The report stated that the consumption of diesel, which is the most consumed fuel in India accounting for about two-fifths of the overall fuel demand, dropped 5.8 per cent to 2.72 million tonnes during the first fortnight of this month, compared to the year-ago period. The report also stated that consumption of diesel had fallen by a similar proportion in the first half of August 2023.

Diesel sales in the first fortnight of September this year reportedly increased 0.9 per cent month-on-month, compared to 2.7 million tonnes consumed in the first half of August. This also marked a 26 per cent surge in diesel sales in the first fortnight of this month, over the same period of September 2021 and 36.4 per cent compared to pre-pandemic September 2019.